Daughter's Nightmare
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Gia's always had nightmares, and who can blame her. She's had to suffer through a lot. Troy thinks he can help.
1. Too Late

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - **__**Prom Night**__ - __**A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex – Emma's Night – Emma's Mother – Bait And Switch – After Death – A Stormy Day – A Date For Tensou – A Mother's Advice – Mending Fences – Executioner Named Revenge –Those Three Words – On The Fourth Day – Babysitting – Tiger- A Fresh Start – On the Mountains – Looking Ahead – The Rangers' Recovery**_

When Gia woke up, she found herself in an empty room. There was nothing on the floor, nothing on the walls, no window to let some light in. There was only a door. Only a door and one chair.

On the chair, there was a man. When the man saw she was awake, he got up. Gia had been in this situation dozens of times before and remembered this time she had put herself here intentionally.

She had been in the hospital. After an attack from Vrak left her injured and burned, she was looking at a recovery in the hospital bed. Her mother had been by her side every day. Mrs. Goodall had stopped by for visits and brought treats with her to break up the monotony of the hospital food Gia was forced to eat. Emma was by her bedside constantly. Jake came for visits just as often as her mother did.

But today, the visits had been a little different. Today, Troy had showed up, begging for forgiveness he didn't need because he felt he was responsible for her injuries. Gia assured him he wasn't to blame, and they started talking afterwards. Their dreams came up. Troy explained a little more about his dreams to Gia: how he believed he was dreaming up moments of the lives of former Rangers, as well as seeing events that were going to occur in the future. He claimed he saw battles and a great war.

Gia, meanwhile, had dreams – nightmares – that focused only on events that had happened to her in the past. Her dreams were either forcing her to relive her horrible memories over and over again every night, or they played out different versions of one event. The latter, Troy had told her, was her guilt playing up.

The problem with her dreams, though, was that there was never an end. She would always wake up before there was any kind of resolution. It hurt and scared her every night. What hurt the most was when dreams of her father left her feeling sick, helpless, and horrible about herself. Her worst nightmares that involved him had her trapped in this very room where she was forced to listen to him yelling to her about how disappointed he was with her, how he blamed her for his death, and how she deserved to be mistreated by men like Cliff because of how shameful she was as a daughter and all the pain she had caused him in the months before his death. He'd scream at her, over and over again, until she woke up screaming for him to stop. And no matter who she told about her nightmares, they wouldn't stop.

Troy promised to help her. He promised to find a way to work with her to reach an end where she could hopefully apologize to her father and explain she never wanted him dead. She was hoping she could earn his forgiveness and that by doing so, her nightmares would finally stop.

The man, who she knew to be her father, got up from the chair and walked over to her. In her dreams, her back still hurt her, and her muscles were sore, but she could stand up. She could move around. However, as soon as she tried to get up to her feet, her father pushed her down.

"You disgust me," he seethed as he glared down hatefully at her.

"Dad, I'm…"

"You're what? Sorry? I'm dead because of you, and you're sorry? I try to help you, and you rip my heart out like I mean nothing to you?"

"It wasn't me…"

"Like hell it wasn't you!" her father screamed and pushed her down again. "I've given you everything. You're a fucking Power Ranger! You save everyone! You can't make it home in time to save me! Is that the thanks I get? My ungrateful, dirty, piece of shit daughter would rather be out saving complete strangers than her own father!"

"No, dad…"

"I should have let Cliff take you! If this is how you're going to treat the men in your life, you deserve nothing better than what you had with him! He put you in your place! He made sure you were doing everything you were supposed to be doing!"

"Dad…"

"Shut up!" he struck her across the cheek. He watched her fall to the ground and then she didn't get up. He knelt beside her and whispered in her ear, "You've got no one to blame for your pain but yourself. You've chosen this life. On day, it's going to catch up to you. One day, you're going to suffer for all the people you've hurt by being a selfish, ungrateful, dirty piece of shit."

"I'm sorry, dad," Gia sobbed into the cold, stone ground. Her father scoffed as he got up and stormed to the door.

"Sorry won't undo it," he said before slamming the door. Gia lay on the floor sobbing. She knew there was no point going after him. She had tried before, but the door was always locked and he would never come back.

"Gia!"

This time, it was Troy's voice, but he was too late. He fell down beside her and tried to help her up, but she pushed him away.

"You said you could help!" she screamed. "You said you'd be here!"

"I tried, Gia," he assured her as he tried to help her up, but she pushed him away. "This is my first time doing anything like this. I had no idea what I was doing."

"You said you'd be here! You said we could fix it!"

"I'll be here sooner next time," he promised her.

"No," Gia shook her head. "We're not doing this again."

"Gia, you're a wreck. Obviously this is eating you up. It's not going to stop until you face it…"

"Then I'll face it alone! Get away from me," she pushed him again and then got up and ran to the door. She tried to open it, but just like all the times before, it was locked.

"Push, Gia," Troy told her. Gia pushed the door and it opened, but when she stepped into the next room it caught fire suddenly. She tried to turn around, to run back to the other room where at least she was safe, but the door was gone. She let out another scream before everything was black.

-Megaforce-

Troy snapped out of his dream first, gasping for breath as his head rose up from the bed. He looked around, saw he was in the hospital and let out a sigh. At least that was over with for now.

He felt his hand was still holding Gia's and saw she was still sleeping. He had been forced from the dream when she walked into the new room, but it seemed she was still inside. Suddenly, she let out a scream as her eyes shot open. Tears started flooding down her cheeks almost instantly. When she looked up and saw him, her anger grew.

"You lied!"

"Gia…"

"Get out!" Gia screamed and tried to find something to throw at him, but all she had was her tiger. She launched it at him with as much force as she could muster up. Fortunately, it wasn't much. The tiger hit him, sending him the message that it was time to go. He stood up, set the tiger back on the bed so she could reach it, and then walked to the door.

"I know what I'm doing now," he said. "I was slow this time, I know, but I've never been in someone else's dream before…"

"Get out!" she screamed at him again and was about to reach for the tiger. Troy knew he was no longer welcomed and ran before she could throw it.

Instead, she clutched it to her chest and doubled over, sobbing hysterically. Troy could hear her in the hallways. He leaned against the door to her room and clutched his head. He had hoped to be able to help her the first time, but it seemed her nightmares were worse than he expected. By the time he got to her she was already on the floor sobbing inconsolably. He was going to have to be faster next time if he wanted to help her.

If she would let him help her next time. She made it clear this was an experience she never wanted to repeat. He couldn't blame her, but he couldn't give up.

"Is that Gia?" he heard someone ask from down the hallway and turned to see it was Mrs. Moran. She looked dressed up, confirming what Emma said about Mrs. Moran going around town to drop off resumes. She had quit her job before Mr. Moran passed away so that Gia and Emma had at least one parent at home all the time that they could turn to when they needed help. Now that Mr. Moran was gone, there was only so long she and the girl could live comfortable before the bills needed to be paid, groceries needed to be bought and their post-secondary education needed to be paid for. Mrs. Moran was desperate to get some money rolling in.

Troy nodded his head, answering her question. She dropped the folder she was carrying, which scattered her leftover resumes all over the hospital hall and darted into the room. Troy decided now would be a good time to leave. He had seen the verbal abuse Mrs. Moran had given to Gosei after finding out her daughter had died and come back to life without his help. He never wanted to be on the receiving end of Mrs. Moran's protective side.

Even if it meant running away with his tail between his legs like a coward. At least he would live to see another day.

Inside the room, Mrs. Moran darted over to her daughter's side, pulled her up and held her softly in her arms as Gia cried. Mrs. Moran asked her what was wrong, but Gia couldn't control her sobs enough to get her words out. To console her, Mrs. Moran had to go with what she knew. She knew her daughter had been having nightmares lately about her death. She knew the nightmares scared her. She assumed this one was worse than the others before.

"You're safe now," she whispered in her daughter's ear as she hugged her. "You're safe. It's okay. I'm here. He's not going to hurt you again, I promise."

Gia clung to her mother and sobbed hysterically until her body couldn't take it anymore and she passed out. Mrs. Moran held her daughter for a few moments afterwards before setting her down gently in the bed and then taking a seat on the chair. She looked at her jacket. The shoulder, the arm, and the left breast were soaked with her daughter's tears. She took off the jacket and hung it over the back of the chair.

At that moment, Mrs. Goodall came in with a tin of cookies she had baked. She was about to announce the arrival of the treat when she got a sense of the mood in the room. She looked to Gia and then to Mrs. Moran.

"Is everything okay?"

Mrs. Moran shook her head, "I can't do this, Claire. Ten minutes. For ten minutes straight she was in hysterics."

"Over what?"

"I don't know. A nightmare, maybe. What if it's just getting worse, Claire? What if this is a sign?"

"What is a sign?"

Mrs. Moran pointed to her jacket, "I can't go back to work. I can't not be there for her…"

"I don't need to work," Mrs. Goodall said. "It won't be the same, but when you're at work, I can stay at home with the girls. I can…"

"I'd be a bad mother if I left her."

"You're not leaving her," Mrs. Goodall shook her head. She pulled over the second chair and sat beside her best friend. "Vanessa, _I_ left my daughter. You going to work… doesn't even qualify. Someone's got to pay the bills. Someone's got to provide for her."

"What if this happens again and I can't get home?" Mrs. Moran asked. "This was so much easier when Joe was around. I could be there for the girls, you know? I was always there and there was always food on the table. I can't… I can't do both."

"A lot of single mothers figured it out."

"They don't have my daughter. They don't have our girls," Mrs. Moran shook her head. "She needs me, Claire. I need to be with her. I can't do that and…"

"I'll sell my house."

"Claire…"

"I'll talk to Emma," Mrs. Goodall said. "If she's alright with it, I'll sell my house and move in with you. We'll use the profit for whatever you need. And I'll go to work. We'll keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. And you can be at home with them all the time."

"Claire, I can't…"

"My daughter's involved in this too," Mrs. Goodall smiled. "I wouldn't be a good mother or person if I didn't do something to help. I've got money left over from vacations I would have taken had I not smartened up, and Jeff and I have been saving up for college for Emma. She's good to go. My vacation money can cover Gia."

"Your money for Gia? No, Claire…"

"Stay home with your daughter," Mrs. Goodall insisted with a smile. "Leave the finances up to me."

Mrs. Moran threw her arms around Mrs. Goodall. This time, it was her turn to cry.


	2. Staying

Emma returned to the hospital after a small date with Jordan. She was still a little freaked out by everything that had happened, but Jordan had convinced her he didn't have it in him to hurt her or her friends. Emma, while she did have some doubts, found she did believe that somehow the Jordan from the future had gotten Gia home safe. The nurse seemed to believe he was the man who rescued her. Gia seemed to believe it. From what she knew of Jordan, she felt it was true. She decided against calling off the relationship and wanted to be with both her boyfriend whom she loved and her best friend whom she knew she couldn't live without.

As she walked to Gia's room, she saw her mother pacing in the hallway outside her door and looking nervous. Emma dropped the leftovers she had brought from the restaurant for Gia and hurried over.

"Is everything okay?"

Mrs. Goodall looked down at her daughter and nodded her head, "Everything's fine. Vanessa just thinks it was a nightmare."

"What? Is Gia…?"

"She's okay," Mrs. Goodall promised. She took a seat on the floor and leaned against the wall. She invited Emma to sit down with her. The pink Ranger looked to the door and then took a seat with her mother.

"If everything is fine…"

"We need to talk."

"Are you leaving?"

Mrs. Goodall shook her head, "No. Never. Quite the opposite, actually."

"The opposite?"

"Life insurance only stretches so far," Mrs. Goodall says. "The money Vanessa received after Joe's death can only cover so much. You know she's been looking for a job, right?"

"Anyone would be a fool not to hire her," Emma nodded her head. "Did she… what happened?"

"It's not secret I've put you through a lot," Mrs. Goodall took her daughter's hand. "You're lucky and I'm lucky that Vanessa and Joe have been around and that they've stepped up to look after you, but we both know there's still damage."

"I'll be okay," Emma said. "You're here now. You're trying. Mom, I trust you."

"And I'm going to keep trying, and keep proving I'm worthy of your trust, but… you've spent so much time alone that now you need someone who'll always be around when you need it. If Mrs. Moran starts working… she can't leave work in the middle of the day if something happens. Once in a while, that's fine. If her boss is understanding, she might be able to get away with it, but with how much I've screwed up, and with all the healing Gia needs… I don't think any boss can be or should be that forgiving. It wouldn't be fair to ask her to be in two places at once."

"She's strapped for cash?"

"Not yet, but soon."

"I'll move in with you, then," Emma looked to her mother and Mrs. Goodall felt a sense of pride hearing those selfless words from her daughter, but she shook her head. She hugged her daughter.

"You're amazing, Emma, but that's not what I'm asking. No one wants that."

"But if it makes it easier on Vanessa only having one kid…"

"I want to move in with you," Mrs. Goodall interrupted Emma. "I'll sell my house so there's extra money while I try to find a job. We've got money, Emma. I can support you and the Morans while Vanessa stays home to look after you and Gia."

Mrs. Goodall then pulled away and looked her daughter in the eyes, "But only if you're comfortable. I'll still get a job, I'll give whatever I can to Vanessa. We'll figure something else out if you're not comfortable having me around. Just… say the word and…"

Emma threw herself at Mrs. Goodall and embraced her lovingly. Mrs. Goodall chuckled.

"Is that a yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Emma," Mrs. Goodall lovingly squeezed her daughter. "So, you're okay with this? Don't do this to be strong. However you feel, that's the right decision. I'm not going to push you into something because you think…"

"Mom, you practically live with us anyways," Emma smiled. "You're over, like, every day. Why not save some money and just have you… move in?"

"You are okay with this?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "I… I kind of like the idea. I think it's a good idea. I'm proud of you, mom."

"Proud… You're proud of me?"

"I just wanted you to come down to help Vanessa," Emma nodded her head and had to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You… you didn't stop there, though. You didn't give up. You're still here helping Vanessa; you're showing me you can take care of someone besides yourself. You're showing me you want to be a part of my life and that you care for me, and… and you're even stepping up for Gia… and she's not your kid and… and you don't owe her anything and if… if you can do that for her I have no doubt you'll be there for me."

Emma hugged her mother once more, "You're amazing, mom. Thank you."

Mrs. Goodall kissed the top of her daughter's head and then let her go, telling her to go into the room to be with Gia. Emma nodded, went to pick up her leftovers, and then headed inside. Mrs. Goodall stayed on the floor, and though she had tears in her eyes, she couldn't stop smiling.

"This is why you left Oklahoma?"

She looked up. She thought it had been a nurse or doctor coming down the hall, but this man wasn't wearing scrubs. He was dressed in regular clothes and holding up a bouquet.

"Oliver?"

"You told me your best friend's husband died. I thought you were going for a funeral. It's been weeks."

"I told you my daughter called and her family needed my help."

"And then you never came back?"

Mrs. Goodall stood up and shrugged her shoulders. When she got the phone call from Emma asking her to come home, she hadn't thought of what would happen after she helped Vanessa grieve. She knew she wanted to come back and try to do better by her daughter. She left Oliver behind because when it came to getting her daughter back, nothing was more important.

"I'm sorry, Oliver. She needed me."

"For this long?"

"Normally it's at least eighteen years," Mrs. Goodall nodded her head. "I've made a horrible mistake, Oliver. I can't hurt her again. I need to spend my time making sure she's okay. There's no room for you anymore. How did you find me, anyways?"

"My aunt works here," Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "She told me she saw you here and I thought I'd surprise you. Now you're moving in with some Vanessa chick? You're taking care of her daughter? What, are you two getting married? Were you cheating with a chick, too?"

"She's my best friend. Oliver, I need to stay here. I need to focus on the girls and Vanessa. I owe it to them…"

"I'm your boyfriend."

"I was married, Oliver," Mrs. Goodall shook her head. "You knew that."

"I don't care," Oliver frowned. "Paper can't tell me who I love. We've been together almost as long as you've been married."

"And it was a mistake. I've always told you my daughter came first."

"Yeah, but you've never meant it."

It was like he put a knife through her heart, but she knew it was true and she knew she was different now.

"I mean it now."

"No you don't," Oliver shook his head and offered Mrs. Goodall the flowers, "I've got a trip to Vegas booked. We can put all this behind us, get married, and go back to having fun again. That's a thousand times better than staying cooped up in this town with needy people."

"My daughter just told me she loved me," Mrs. Goodall smiled. "I'm sorry, Oliver, but a trip to Vegas and a shotgun wedding can't even compare. She's number one. That's how it should have been from the start."

"Do you really want to stay here? We could win the jackpot in Vegas. We could be rich. We could have everything!"

"And the people behind that door?"

"Screw 'em. We don't need them."

"Have fun in Vegas, Oliver. I'm going to see if my niece needs anything," Mrs. Goodall said. She crossed the hall and walked into the room. As the door closed slowly, Oliver heard her asking whoever was inside how she was feeling. He dropped the bouquet on the floor and walked out.


	3. Don't Close Your Eyes

Jake was back on the soccer field, warming up for his game, which was only a few days away. It was the semi-finals, and there was a lot at stake. This game needed to be won if Jake and his team wanted to play for the first place trophy. More than ever, Jake needed to be ready and he needed to play his best. He could only hope Vrak or the mutants didn't decide to schedule a game of their own at the same time. He didn't want to disappoint his team.

He was doing drills with the other players when he noticed his coach talking to Troy. Excusing himself to the captain, he jogged to the side of the field and grabbed his water bottle. As he drank, Troy came over.

"Dude, please tell me it's not Ranger related," Jake sighed. "I really, really want to be able to play in this next game."

"We need to talk," Troy shook his head. Jake looked worriedly for a moment as he followed Troy further from the field. They both sat in the grass on a little hill. Jake looked over the practice until Troy let out a sigh.

"I just wanted to help."

"What did you do?" Jake asked.

"I talked to Gia about what happened," Troy said. "One thing led to another and we started talking about our dreams. You know Gia's having nightmares, right?"

"Almost every night," Jake said. "Depending on what's going on, she'll have nightmares about Cliff, her dad, or her death."

"Yeah," Troy sighed. He pulled at the grass, "I told her I would try to help her."

"How?"

"I've got these dreams," Troy said. "Obviously I'm different because of them. I thought maybe I could make it inside her dream and help her finish them. You know, get some resolution so they can't hurt her anymore."

"You thought you could jump inside Gia's dream?"

"Don't be so skeptical. I did get inside her dream. I just… I was a little too late. I didn't know what I was doing or if it was possible. By the time I made it, there was nothing I could do."

"Is she okay?"

"I don't think I need to tell you how much the nightmares are hurting her," Troy said, "But I know I can help her. I know I can make it to her in time. If she'll just let me try again…"

"So why won't you talk to her about this? I've got practice dude, and as much as Coach understands I've got a lot on my plate, I don't think he'd appreciate me skipping practice to talk about my girlfriend's nightmares."

"She got really mad at me when I was late. Understandably, she doesn't want to try again," Troy said. "I hoped you could talk to her. I hoped you could convince her that I only need one more time to get this right."

"How are you going to help her, Troy?" Jake asked. "Even if you can get in her dream, at the right time, what can you do? All this stuff she goes through is very personal. I'm lucky she talks to me about what's bothering her when she's awake."

"I know I can help her," Troy said. "It's just a matter of reminding her the nightmares aren't real. If she can have someone in her dreams with her, telling her it's all a lie, maybe she'll be strong enough to fight it. I saw the end of her nightmare. I saw what it reduced her too. She's still alone, Jake."

"You're convinced you can be there for her? In time?" Jake asked. "No more trial runs? No disappointing her? Next time is the last time?"

"I promise," Troy said. "No matter what it takes."

"I make no promises," Jake said. "But I'll talk to her. I'll see if she's up to it."

"Thank you."

Jake nodded his head as he got up. Before he ran back to the field, he looked down at Troy.

"You're playing with a very, very fragile piece of Gia, you know that, right?" Jake asked him. "I may not be the team genius, but I am best friends with him. I've heard Noah go on and on about how the mind works. If this hurts her, Troy, I'm going to mess you up."

"I'll be careful. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it would help."

"I trust you," Jake nodded. "Don't make me regret it."

-Megaforce-

Noah decided it was his turn to visit the hospital today. He bumped into Mrs. Moran and Mrs. Goodall on his way in. He heard them talking about real estate agents and figured they had some work that needed to be done. But if they were gone, he assumed Emma was still around.

He got up to Gia's room and saw he was right. Emma was right by Gia's bedside, helping the nurse tend to the yellow Ranger. He saw the bandage on her back coming off and turned away at the sight of the wound.

"Looks bad," he said. Emma who was helping the nurse by holding Gia still nodded her head. Gia had her eyes closed and didn't say anything. She was likely trying to block out everything going on in the room.

"It's healing," the nurse said. "With any luck, you may be discharged in time to see your boyfriend's game. Whether or not you'll feeling like sitting around on a hot soccer field is a different story."

"So we can take her home soon?" Emma asked. "Obviously someone's going to have to keep an eye on her, but I think she'll be more comfortable at home."

"Most are," the nurse nodded as she covered up the wound with a new bandage and then clipped together the back of Gia's gown. "I'll give in my report to the doctor. We'll see what he says."

"Thanks," Emma smiled. As the nurse walked out, she helped Gia lay back in bed. Then she smiled, "Did you hear that?"

"Luck isn't exactly on my side," Gia sighed.

"You died and came back to life," Emma said. "No one gets any luckier than that."

Gia rolled her eyes and then spotted Noah. She gave him a welcoming smile but Noah could see the tired and hurt look in her eyes. Something was obviously bothering her.

"Hospitals suck, huh?" he asked as he pulled up the second chair by her bed and took a seat. "I'll bet your mom and Emma know how to change that dressing by now. They should let you go home."

"What difference does it make? I'll still be lying in bed. It'll just be four different walls I have to stare at."

"And better cooking," Emma said. "Speaking of which, I'll make a lunch run. Noah, can you stay with her?"

"Of course," Noah nodded his head. Emma gave him a thankful smile and promised to be back soon as she left. Noah turned back to Gia. He could still see she was hurting. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered. She wanted to reach for the remote to turn on the TV, but it was too far. Noah took it away.

"Why don't you get some sleep? You look tired."

"No."

"Gia…"

"No. It's the same thing every time," Gia shook her head. "Nightmare after nightmare."

"I think all of us are going to have nightmares for a while," Noah said. "We were all really worried about you. But they're just nightmares."

"No, they aren't."

"What if I promise to wake you up as soon as Emma gets back? Just a shot nap? A refresher."

"No."

"Gia."

"I'm not sleeping."

"Have you gotten any sleep at all, lately?" Noah asked her and Gia turned away. He pressed on. "Last night?"

"Noah…"

"Gia, you need rest! It's the reason you're bedridden. You'll heal a lot faster if you let your body get some sleep."

"You've got no idea what you're talking about, Noah."

"Gia…"

"Let it go, Noah," she growled. Noah got up from his seat and walked to the window. He shut the curtains. Gia frowned at him. "What are you doing?"

Noah made his way to the light switch and flicked it off, leaving the room bathed in darkness. Gia rolled her eyes, but even the dark wouldn't let her sleep. She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, even though Noah couldn't see it.

He made his way back to the chair by her bed and took a seat. He told her he would stay by her side until Emma came back, but the lights weren't going to come back on.

Gia lay in the darkness for a moment and fought to keep her eyes open.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a daughter," she heard a whisper and tried to look around, but the room was still too dark to see. Her eyes hadn't adjusted. Suddenly, the room started to feel very, very hot. The burn on her back especially began to heat up. She shifted uncomfortably.

She heard a laugh echoing in the room. At first she just thought it was Noah, but when she reached out to grab him, he wasn't there.

"Noah?"

She heard the door open, but there was no light coming in from the hallway. She heard footsteps. Was Noah leaving? Had he lied? Before she could call out his name and tell him to come back and turn the lights on, someone crawled up on top of her. She tried to push the person off, but he forced himself on her. As soon as she screamed, the lights came on. She was breathing heavily as she stared up at the ceiling. Noah looked to her worriedly.

"The nightmares really are bad, aren't they?"

"Stupid Troy," Gia muttered as she caught her breath.

"What did Troy do?"

"He made it worse," Gia rolled over to face the window as Noah opened the curtains. Then he turned back to her.

"Troy made it worse? How?"

"Three different types of nightmares now wrapped into one," Gia sighed. Noah looked to her sympathetically before he noticed her tiger had fallen to the floor. He picked it up and offered it to her.

"Do you want to talk about them?" he asked as she took the tiger and hugged it to her chest. She shook her head.

"I'm scared there'll just get worse."

"You're scared. I didn't think tigers got scared," he smiled as he pointed to the toy. Gia looked at it and then sighed.

"Tigers get scared."

"Don't they fight? Aren't they strong enough to fight back?"

"Noah…"

"Isn't that tattoo on your back supposed to remind you you're better than all these nightmares?"

"You mean my burned back? Tigger's probably ruined…"

"You're back pretty badly injured," Noah nodded his head, "But the tiger's fine."

"It is?"

"Is that Emma's bag?" he pointed beside the bed. Gia nodded. He started to dig through it until he found her camera.

"Sit up."

With his help, she did as he asked. Noah then undid the back of her gown just enough to expose her shoulder and he took a picture of her tattoo. He then showed the picture to Gia. "See, Tigger's fine. Vrak didn't hurt her."

Gia held the camera in her hands and smiled a little bit.

"If I keep the lights on this time, will you get some sleep?" Noah asked.

"No," Gia shook her head. "But I'll talk to you."

"About the nightmares?"

"Maybe you can help," Gia said. Noah nodded his head and promised he would do his best.


	4. A Mind At Rest

Mrs. Moran noticed her daughter was having a hard time sleeping. No matter what she tried to help induce sleep, no matter what she said to comfort Gia there was very little sleep. The reason Gia gave was always the same: she didn't want nightmares.

Nightmares had been plaguing her daughter for years now. Mrs. Moran only found out about them a few months ago. It had been around the same time she found out what had happened between Gia and Cliff. She had talked to some specialists about it and they said it was normal for Gia to have nightmares, and gave her some advice they thought would help rid her of the bad dreams. Mrs. Moran tried everything, but the nightmares didn't go away and now, because of it, her daughter wouldn't sleep.

Her injuries were healing, the doctors and nurses were confident she would be fine, so Mrs. Moran arranged to have Gia come home. She thought that maybe staying cooped up inside the hospital with strangers coming in to check up on her was a cause of the nightmares. Gia couldn't do much on her own, especially when it came to defending herself. She didn't know all the doctors and nurses that came to visit her very well, so if any of them tried something, there was nothing Gia could do. Mrs. Moran trusted everyone on staff, but she could understand if Gia had her reservations.

So she brought her home. She told the doctors when she took Gia out that she would have someone come in to check on her daughter, but Gia and Emma told her Tensou could do one better.

Now, Mrs. Moran found herself in the Ranger's command center. Gia lay on a table on her stomach while Tensou waved a wand over her back.

"You know, you have Ranger suits for a reason," Tensou said to Gia and looked up at Emma as well, "You should use them."

"It was a world ruled by Vrak," Emma said. "We had no Ranger powers. He destroyed them."

"Is there anything you can do, Tensou?" Mrs. Moran asked the little robot. He looked up at her and nodded his head.

"Yes. The doctors did a great job repairing the damage. My machines can take it from here. All she needs to do is rest up while I get to work."

"Rest up?" Gia turned her head to look at Tensou, "You mean sleep?"

"The process does require your body and mind to be at rest," Tensou nodded. "It's a little more complicated than finishing the healing process of a broken arm."

"Are there any risks?" Mrs. Moran asked. Tensou looked up at her again.

"Some, but don't worry, Vanessa, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to your daughter."

Emma leaned over and whispered to Gia, "You might want to take advantage of the fact that our little robot is sweet on your mom."

Gia looked to Emma, "I don't want to sleep."

"Because of the nightmares? Gia, they aren't real."

"They are… they're real to me."

At that moment, a light came into the command center and Jake landed on his feet. He wobbled a little bit as he still tried to get used to suddenly landing in a new place, but he managed to stay on his feet.

"Hey, I'm getting better at this," he smiled. He spotted Gia on the table with Tensou looking over her, "Found you. Tensou, how's is going?"

"I'm fine," Tensou answered. Jake frowned and shook his head.

"I meant with Gia."

"Oh, I can speed up her recovery process. If she'll allow me, I'll put her under. With her body and mind at rest, I can minimize the risk of complications, and the recovery will go a lot faster."

"You hear that, Gia?" Jake smiled as he walked over to her. "You could be back on your feet by…"

"Tomorrow morning," Tensou said.

Gia looked to Jake worriedly, "I don't want to sleep."

"Tensou said it's your best chance," Jake smiled. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Gia nodded her head. Jake promised Mrs. Moran and Emma that he would take it from here with Gia. Both were hesitant to leave, especially with Gia hesitating to let Tensou finish up the work on her back, but Jake convinced them it would be okay.

"Feel better," Mrs. Moran smiled to Gia and kissed her cheek. "Tensou's amazing. He's not going to screw up. You'll be fine."

"Aw, shucks," Tensou seemed to blush, but it was hard to tell without a face. Emma teleported back home with Mrs. Moran.

Jake asked Tensou to give him a moment alone with Gia. The robot obliged, saying he had to get some things ready before he started to work with Gia. Jake noticed Gosei didn't seem to be present. He helped Gia sit up on the table and then sat with her.

"Troy told me about the nightmares."

"He's not trying it again," Gia said. "Jake, that nightmare with him was really bad, and they've only gotten worse since then. I think he did something. He can't help."

"I don't think he did anything," Jake said. "You're just letting them take over."

"I…"

"It's all on your mind, now," Jake said. "You're scared, and when you sleep, it plays up. After everything you've been through, it's no wonder you're having nightmares, but you can make them stop."

"I…"

"I trust Troy," Jake smiled. "He didn't know what he was doing last time, and can you blame him? I mean… what's it called when you know you're dreaming."

"A lucid dream."

"Yeah," Jake smiled. "Isn't that already amazing enough? Troy's not only got to lucid dream, he's got to do it in your dream. So he was a little late last time. He didn't know where he was going or what he was doing. Now he's done it, he knows, and he promises he'll be there to help."

"I'd rather you do it."

"Me too," Jake nodded, "But I don't get these strange vision-dreams. Troy's special like that. He's the only one I think who can help you. And you do trust him, right? Troy's never wanted to hurt you before?"

"Jake, you don't get it. These nightmares…"

"Are really bad," Troy said, "So we need to try everything to get them to stop."

"What if he makes them worse?"

"He's not doing anything, Gia," Jake took her hand softly and looked her in the eyes with a sweet smile. "These are your nightmares. It's your imagination. You control them."

Gia shook her head, "Jake…"

"Are you really going to let nightmares get the better of you?" Jake asked her. "Are you never going to sleep a day in your life because something that isn't real is trying to hurt you? Aren't you tougher than that?"

"Yeah… but…"

"Let Troy help," Jake said. "And I'll be here the whole time too. It's okay, Gia."

"Promise? You'll be right here?"

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "Holding your hand the whole way. Until you wake up again. Until you're better."

"Okay," Gia said. "I'll… I'll try it."

"Awesome," Jake kissed her cheek and then reached into his bag and took out his morpher, "Troy! Hey, dude, it's showtime."


	5. The Nightmare Part I

Gia didn't know how Jake could talk her into these things. She trusted he wouldn't tell her to do something he thought would get her hurt or was dangerous, but when it came to her mind, he had no idea what was she talking about.

He convinced her to not just rest up with a quick sleep, but to actually fall into a deep sleep. Tensou needed her to be out while he was at work on her back. He claimed it would minimize the chances of complications. While he worked on her body, Troy would work on her mind.

Jake called him over and Troy came right away. Jake explained to the red Ranger that Gia was willing to enter her nightmares one more time, on the condition that Troy would be there with her and this would be the last chance they had at conquering the nightmares. Troy promised he would be in her dreams with her to help her stay strong and reach a better end. Jake promised he would stay by her side and hold her hand the entire time she was dreaming, and that he wouldn't let anything hurt her.

So Gia closed her eyes, and within moment she was asleep. When she opened her eyes again, there was fire. She looked around for a way out but couldn't see a door or a window anywhere. She heard Vrak's laughter, though, and she could feel her back burning up as the fire surrounded her. This had everything to do with her death. Her friends told her how they watched her be swallowed up in the fireball that was caused by Vrak's blaster, and it seemed her mind was having a good time warping that so she could relive it for herself over and over again in her dreams.

As a flame came closer to her, she stepped back. Vrak's laughter grew louder as the room got hotter and the fire got bigger. There was nowhere she could go.

"Gia? Gia! Can you hear me?"

At first she thought it was Troy's voice, but she shook her head. It didn't sound like Troy. It was the same voice that tried to get through to her in past dreams, before Troy promised he would help. This was Jordan. She knew it."

"Gia!" he continued to call for her, "You're going to be okay. I can get you home, back to your family."

"Jordan? Jordan!" she screamed for him but she couldn't see him. She could only hear him. Her back hit the wall as the flames forced her to step further away from his voice.

"Gia? I'm here," this time it was Troy. He appeared beside her suddenly. She was grateful to see him, glad he was holding up his end of the promise. Now all he needed to do was help her win.

"Now you show up," Gia said. "Okay, get me out."

"Not going to happen," Troy said. "You have to end this nightmare yourself."

"How?"

"Gia!" Jordan was still calling for her, telling her that he could help her. Troy also heard the voice and turned back to Gia.

"Who's that?"

"Jordan," Gia answered. She felt the sweat dripping down her face as the flames got closer, and with her back already against the wall there was nowhere she could go to escape them. "I'm pretty sure he's the one who brought me back. I don't know what he did, but he saved me."

"So that's him calling?"

"Yeah," Gia nodded. "I can't get to him, though."

"Gia, these are your dreams. You can do whatever you want in them. If you want to get through this fire, you can do it."

"It's fire, Troy!" Gia frowned and pointed to the flames, only to pull her hand away when they tried to lick her arm. "I'm going to get burned!"

"It's your dream. You're in control. The fire can't hurt you," Troy said. "There's got to be a way out. You've got to make a way out."

"I can't get out! I didn't even do that in real life!" Gia shook her head. "Jordan saved me. The doctors saved me. I…"

"Gia, you have to stand up for yourself," Troy grabbed her arms and looked directly at her. "It's nice having someone around to help you, but you're not going anywhere if you're not strong enough to look after yourself. We're always here for you, Gia, but just like the last time we tried this, we might not always make it in time."

"Troy…"

"Gia, these are your dreams. These are just normal nightmares," Troy pointed to his head, "I've got dreams I can't control. I'm just a passenger. I'm helpless when I'm asleep, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything. Do you know how many times I've watched you and the others die?"

"No…"

"Almost every night since Gosei gave us these powers," Troy said. "I've got a heavy burden to carry as leader. I call the shots that'll either lead us to victory, or they'll get someone killed. Every night I imagine the worse and when I dream, I can't do anything about it. It's when I wake up that I can stop it."

"But Troy…"

"I fight, I train, and I do my best to make good decisions every day so this doesn't happen. I'm the best person I can be, and that takes a lot of strength, but it's worth it. You're all still here, and that can't just be a coincidence. You've got to do the same. You're strong enough to do the same. This is your world. You need to take control of it."

Gia nodded her head but she still looked a little worried. Troy flashed her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, I'll still be here if it's too much. Just get to Jordan's voice."

Gia had a look around. The flames were getting bigger, but she noticed they weren't getting any closer to her. She had no room to move and she should have been burning alive by now, but she was only sweating. Maybe she did have a little bit of control.

"We need to put out the flames," Troy told her. "How can we do that?"

"Noah's not here?" Gia sighed. "I guess I asked the wrong Ranger for help."

"There's got to be another way," Troy said.

Gia had another look around and then noticed behind her was a ladder. She hadn't seen it there before but wouldn't question how or when it got there. She told Troy to follow her as she started to climb up. The ladder took her high enough so she was over the flames. They couldn't reach her anymore, unless she fell in.

"Look," Troy pointed to the other end of the fire, where a man was looking around. Gia recognized him as Jordan and breathed out a sigh of relief now that she could see him. It was only a matter of getting over the fire.

"How are we going to get across?" she asked Troy. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Your dream. How do you want this to end?"

"I want to get out of here, Troy," Gia said.

"Okay, well, what's happened before? How come you were never able to get to Jordan before?"

"I don't know," Gia shrugged her shoulders. "I guess… I guess I never tried. I thought he would come to me. He did save me, after all. Why wouldn't…"

"You don't need saving," Troy looked up at her from his lower position on the ladder and smiled. "Gia, you're the toughest person I know. You survived death!"

"Only because Jordan…"

"Vrak shot you! You're in the hospital because his blast hit you! Jordan brought you home, but you survived it. You've survived everything until now. You don't need saving, Gia. You just need a way home."

"Troy, there's no way to get over there," Gia shook her head. "Unless you want to jump into this pit of fire first to show me it's not dangerous."

Troy looked down and then shook his head. He wasn't sure if he could die in a dream, especially someone else's, but he wasn't willing to take that chance.

"There's got to be another way," Troy said. "Look, we're out of harm's way. The fire doesn't seem like it can burn enough to get us at this height. Just take a minute and…"

"Wait, say that again."

"I didn't even finish speaking."

"No, the other thing. Right before that."

"The fire isn't burning us at this height…"

"It can't reach," Gia nodded and then looked down, "But… what is it burning? The room looks… empty."

"I don't know."

"A fire needs fuel to burn," Gia said. "Fuel and oxygen. We're breathing, so there's obviously enough oxygen in the air, but where's the fuel?"

"I… I don't see anything," Troy said as he looked down. "But we're in a room, there's got to be furniture…"

"The room is empty," Gia shook her head. "I mean… I've always thought it was empty. It's just me, the fire, Vrak, and Jordan. No one is on fire, there's nothing for the fire to consume… why is it still burning? How is it burning?"

"Maybe we should focus on getting to the other side?"

"No, Troy," Gia looked down, "There's nothing in this room! How can it be burning?"

"I don't know."

"There shouldn't be any fire! Nothing here can burn!"

Troy looked up at Gia for a moment, wondering what she was talking about, until he felt cool air cover his body. He looked down and saw the fire was gone. The walls and the floors had some burn marks as evidence that there had been a fire, but there was no longer any dangerous flames. He climbed down from the ladder and helped Gia with the last few steps.

"What?" Vrak's laughter turned into a cry of shock, "How… You're alive?"

"You can't hurt her, Vrak!" Troy shouted and then watched Vrak disappear. He turned around to see Gia smiling and shrugging her shoulders.

"I didn't want him here."

"You're learning," Troy chuckled.

"Gia!" Jordan hurried over and took her in his arms before promising he could get her home. Gia accepted his help and pulled away so he could lead her out, but then something happened. It wasn't Jordan standing before her. He was now someone she never thought she'd see again.

"I missed you, babe."


	6. The Ranger Aisle

Jake did as he promised. Gia was asleep, Troy had joined her in her dreams, and Tensou was taking care of the wound on her back. He was helping to speed up the recovery process so she could be back to normal and the Rangers could have their yellow back as soon as possible. Jake spent his time holding Gia's hand, keeping close, and whispering, hoping she could hear him, that everything would be okay.

"Fortunately there's been no nerve damage," Tensou said. Jake found the little robot liked to talk to himself while he worked, even when no one was really listening. Gosei seemed to be offline, and Jake wasn't answering. Troy and Gia were out, so there wouldn't be any response from them. "No signs of infection, either. That makes my job a lot easier."

Jake knew Tensou was doing his best. Fortunately, Gia reached a stage where he could work on her. Most of Tensou's machines were used for treating mild or moderate injuries from battle. The more severe ones, especially the injuries that occurred while not under the protection of the Ranger suits, were out of Tensou's expertise. He tried to learn as much as he could about humans, how their bodies worked, and how to speed up recovery, prevent injuries, or treat them, but it was difficult to learn because all humans were different. No two people could be expected to respond to treatment in the exact same way, especially with technology that was completely alien to their bodies. Tensou would always do his very best to make sure the Rangers came out of every battle alive and healthy, but wasn't afraid to admit that sometimes human doctors could do a better job looking after his Rangers than he could.

But Tensou did come up with the technology that healed Jake from a traumatic brain injury. Jake was sure he could heal Gia's back without complications. It was her mind he was worried about. It seemed there was still a lot in there that needed to heal.

And unfortunately, there was nothing he could do but hope Gia was strong enough to win this battle.

He gave her hand a little squeeze, "You're the toughest person I know. Nothing can hurt you, Gia. Not if you don't let it."

-Megaforce-

Rebecca was at the mall, just looking around. As a result of some of the decisions she had made before meeting Troy and practically being adopted into his family, she didn't have many friends. Occasionally when she hung out with Troy, she would be buddies with his friends, but she didn't feel she was close enough to any of them to really call them up and ask to hang out. Really, aside from a few special moments she shared with his friends, she didn't know them very much at all.

She was hoping the coming school year would change that. She was attending the same school as her brother but would be in a different grade from him, which meant she would have classes with a whole new set of people she could potentially befriend. She wasn't excited for the work to start up again, but she was excited to meet new people and find friends that she could trust, who would look out for her and help her make the right decisions. Her old friends, the friends who sold and traded drugs and asked her to hold them so they wouldn't get in trouble, weren't real friends. Fortunately, she realized that before she got into a lot of trouble.

She was doing some back to school shopping. Mrs. Burrows had offered to take her out before school started to buy her supplies, but Rebecca didn't want her to spend too much of her money. Despite what they said and how welcoming they were, she still didn't like having to live with her half-brother's mother, whom because of her had been left by her husband with a four year old son and a broken heart. She was very grateful for Mrs. Burrows kind and forgiving heart, but didn't think it right to ask much more of her or her family. She would pick up some supplies with the little money she had and Mrs. Burrows could buy her the rest.

She picked up some pencils, notebooks, and a couple of binders. None of the items were expensive because Rebecca couldn't afford it. Her supplies wouldn't wow her classmates or spark up conversations about where she bought them, but at least they would do what they needed to do, and Rebecca felt a little sense of pride knowing she had bought them for herself.

She had a little money left over. It wasn't enough to buy another school item. The calculator she would need for math class was far out of her price range, the locket organizers were either crap and weren't worth the discounted price, or were too much for her to spend her last few bucks on. She had a decent bag at home that would carry her books at least for another year, and couldn't even think about buying a whole new wardrobe to show off during the year, so she decided to use that money to treat herself. First, she was drawn to the clothing stores. While she couldn't afford an entire outfit, she could maybe find a new shirt that was on sale, but when she saw a little boy carrying around his new Megaforce Ranger pencil case and action figure she had another thought and strayed over to the toy store.

"Man, people love heroes," Rebecca said when she saw there was an entire aisle dedicated to nothing but Ranger themed items. There were car play sets, play weapons, costumes, board games, card games, action figures of the red, blue, black, and robot Rangers for the boys, and dolls of the yellow and pink Rangers for girls. It was almost like a shrine to Harwood's heroes.

Rebecca picked up a toy and pressed its chest, seeing it was a talking red Ranger plush.

"Good job, Mega Ranger!" the toy cried out and Rebecca chuckled.

"Aw, you're sweet," she set the toy back on the shelf and looked around for something else. As she walked by one toy, it started up, playing music over a horrible speaker while the Ranger, black this time, danced along to it. Rebecca jumped away and then rushed to get out of the toy's sight.

"Stupid thing," she said. "These toys are going to give me nightmares."

Next, she spotted a blue Ranger water gun in the shape of the blue Ranger's personal weapon. She picked it up and examined it closely. There was no water inside for her to test it out but she had played with enough water guns as a child to know the good ones from the bad ones.

"Crap," she tossed it back on the shelf and sighed. It would have been fun squirting Troy with a blue Ranger water gun. His reaction would be priceless.

She strayed down to the girls' section, which was mostly yellow and pink. She saw one of the pink dolls and picked it up. As soon as she did it started to cry. She tried to sooth it but found she couldn't.

"Shut up! Shut up!" she grabbed a yellow Ranger pillow and pressed it over the doll's head to silence it. "Well, it's a good thing I adopted out. That was not a proud mothering moment."

She wandered back over to the boy's side and picked up a four inch red Ranger action figure. It was right at her price range, didn't talk, squirt water, or dance, and wouldn't cry inconsolably. And it looked pretty cool.

"Red's a cool colour," she said to herself as she brought the toy to the cash. "Troy does wear it all the time."

She gave a little smirk before handing the toy to the cashier so it could be rung up.

"Personally, I think blue's pretty hot," the cashier said as she scanned the toy and set it in a bag while Rebecca gave her a little look. The Rangers all wore helmets so how could the cashier know who was the hottest. "I think I've got all the different types of blue Rangers at home."

"I've already got a Ranger at home," Rebecca shrugged, "I just figured I'd pick up one more. One at home, one for my locker."

"Oh, I didn't even think about my locker!" the cashier smirked. "After work, I'm totally buying one of the blue Rangers… maybe even his poster!"

"You do that," Rebecca handed the cashier what was left of her money, took her bag, and left the store.


	7. The Nightmare Part II

"I missed you, babe."

Gia was frozen in terror. She could feel all the muscles in her body tense up and weaken at the same time. Just when she thought she had control of her dreams, this world had to throw her a curve ball. The one thing she couldn't control, the only person who had been able to bully her, take advantage of her, and grind her down until she felt like she was nothing was standing before her.

"Oh… shit," Troy muttered as he watched Jordan turn into Cliff. The man before her went from being a man who saved her life to… not even a man. Cliff was scum. As far as Troy was concerned, the best place for Cliff was in the ground with the rest of the maggots.

No offense to the maggots.

The worst part of it was that he couldn't protect Gia. The whole reason he was in her dream was to help her overcome her fears, her guilt, and all the other feelings that plagued her. She needed to get control over the voices in her head that still existed and that tried so hard to knock her down. Troy knew that if he saved her now, Cliff would only come back.

All he could do was offer support and hope that by now Gia knew Cliff had no power over her. All he could do was pray that Gia wouldn't let him win.

"Come here, babe," Cliff reached out and grabbed her arm. Gia instinctively pulled away, which was a good sign, but Cliff showed he had power by stepping forward and catching her in his arms. As she tried to pull away from him, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You've got a lot of making up to do…"

"Please let me go," Gia begged him.

Troy shook his head, "Don't do this, Gia. He's not real. He's got nothing over you…"

"Shut up, punk!" Cliff shouted and then he started to kiss Gia's neck. Gia continued to try and break away from him while she also looked to Troy, begging for his help.

"You've got to fight this," Troy told her. "You've beaten him once before, Gia. You can do it again. This is your dream. He's only doing what you're letting him do."

"Get out of here, you loser," Cliff scoffed. Troy rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to let Cliff push him around. He hoped he could set the example for Gia.

"If a loser has respect for people and treats them the way they deserve to be treated, then I'd rather be a loser than whatever you think you are," Troy retorted. "You can't hurt me, Cliff."

"Whatever," Cliff turned back to Gia and smirked wickedly, "I've waited a long time for this."

Troy watched as Cliff tried to take control of Gia, but she pushed him off. It wasn't enough from Gia, though, and only served to anger Cliff. When he felt she was playing too hard to get he grabbed her by the neck and rammed her into the wall.

"I'm the man here!" he shouted at her as he suffocated her. "You do what I tell you!"

"He's not a man, he's a coward!" Troy called out to Gia. "He knows he's weak and pathetic. All he does is abuse people to hide how scared he really is. The only power he has is the power you're giving him!"

Gia's eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped. Cliff let her fall to the floor where she then gasped for breath. Cliff didn't help her out much as he kicked her in the ribs.

"You know what I want, bitch!"

"Stand up to him, Gia! He's nothing!"

"You think I'm nothing?" Cliff shouted as he turned to look at Troy. He opened his arms out to the side, "Alright, tough guy, if you're so much better than me, why don't you come and fight me? I'll kick your ass!"

"This isn't my fight," Troy shook his head. He locked eyes with Gia, "You can win this one."

"You want her?" Cliff taunted Troy. "You really want to waste your time with trash? Come on, fight me, wuss. You win and you can her take home. Do whatever you want to her, I don't care."

"I'm not fighting you."

"Because you're the real coward!" Cliff laughed. He turned back to Gia, who had just gotten to her feet, and then grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her in for a kiss. Gia put her hands on his chest to try and push him away, but he couldn't be moved. His hands started to wander. While one slid down her back to her butt, the other made its way up her shirt.

"Stop it!" she shouted suddenly and pushed him away. Cliff didn't seem happy. He never was when he couldn't get his way. He managed to snag her jacket as she tried to run, but she slipped it off. She got a couple of feet away from him before turning around to face him. Cliff looked at her jacket and then threw it aside.

"Now we're talking," he smirked.

"No," Gia shook her head. "Stop it, Cliff. I don't… I don't like this."

"Don't be scared of him, Gia," Troy said to her. "He likes that. He wants that. That's how he controls you. Tell him what you want. Be strong."

"Leave me alone," Gia said as she looked right at Cliff. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm.

"And what if I don't want to?" he leaned in to kiss her neck and let his lips travel down her shoulder. It was then he noticed there was something there. He pulled away and spun her around.

"Ink," he said. Gia pulled her arm out of his grip and moved away from him. Cliff chuckled. "You've got a tattoo?"

"I've… my," Gia touched her shoulder and remembered her tiger tattoo was there.

"He can't hurt you, Gia. Don't let him," Troy said. She glanced over to him. She could see in his eyes how much he wanted to help, but he was standing back. Now that she remembered the tattoo, she knew why he wouldn't interfere. She could protect herself. She had to protect herself. She didn't want to rely on anyone else.

"Come on, babe," Cliff grabbed her arm again, "One more time, just for old time's sake."

"No," she ripped her arm away from him and stood tall.

"I don't think you heard me…"

"I don't think _you_ heard _me_," Gia shook her head. "I said no."

"You don't have a choice," he reached for her again, but this time she grabbed him and this time she pressed him up against the wall.

"You can't hurt me," she told him. "I'm not letting you push me around anymore."

"Oh, what, you're big and tough, now?" Cliff chuckled. Gia twisted his arm behind his back and pulled his wrist between his shoulder blades. He winced painfully, "Ow, babe, that hurts."

"Really? Do you like it? Should I keep going?" Gia forced his arm a little higher and could see Cliff was trying not to cry out in pain. "Should I ignore you asking me to stop? Should I tell you that you owe me this pleasure because you're nothing without me? Maybe I'll start to put you down, and call you so many names you'll start to feel just as worthless as I did. You're vulnerable now, Cliff. I can do whatever I want to you, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Have your way with me, babe," Cliff chuckled, but when Gia twisted his wrist a little more the laughter turned into sobs. "Ow, fuck!"

He struggled to push her away but this time he wasn't strong enough to do anything.

"You're not hurting me anymore, Cliff," Gia told him. "You can't call me names I won't hear them. You can't hurt me anymore because I won't let you. You're never getting your way with me again. And you know what the best part of all this is?"

Cliff shook his head as he tried unsuccessfully to hide the sobs from the pain.

"I've found a boyfriend who loves me," Gia told him. "I've found a guy who treats me right, who cares about me. I've got a real man waiting for me when I wake up. I've got friends who care about me. Friends who want to see me do better than fall for scum like you. Friends who love me enough to let me fight and win this battle on my own. And you know what you've got? You're dead, Cliff. Not just to me, but to the world. And you died a lonely, miserable death. No one came to help you. Your friends didn't care enough to be there in your final moments. But you know what? You know what's really great? When I was dying, someone did everything he could to help me. My friends tried everything they could to help me. Who is worthless now, Cliff? Who's garbage? Who is pathetic and weak and stupid?"

She let him go and he dropped to the ground. He grabbed his shoulder painfully as he looked up at her.

"Go ahead, then. Finish me off."

"I don't have to," Gia shook her head. "You're already nothing."

With that, he disappeared. Troy smiled as he rushed over to Gia and pulled her in for a warm hug.

"I knew you could do it!" he looked at her, "Gia, that was amazing!"

"That felt good," Gia smirked and looked to the spot where Cliff had been. "That felt really, really good."

Behind her, she heard a slow clap. She spun around and Troy stood beside her. It was then she saw her father stepping out from the shadows. Her heart dropped. She knew this was the last of her nightmares, but it was one she couldn't bear to face. Her first nightmare just asked that she get herself to safety. The second wanted her to stand up for herself against a monster.

But she couldn't fight her dad.

"Do you want me gone too, Gia?" he asked her.

"Dad, I…"

"Face it, it's your fault I'm dead. You weren't strong enough. You were too slow. I gave you everything, Gia. I only wanted the best for you. The one time I needed your help; the one time I needed you to look out for me, and you couldn't even be there."

"Please, dad…"

"I am so disappointed in you."


	8. Peace

There was nothing but hate and disappointment in her father's eyes. What else could be there? He was dead, killed by her clone who was only a piece of her. In a way, she was responsible for his death.

"Dad, please…"

"Please what?" he rolled his eyes. "Please forgive you? You didn't want this? Say it all you want, Gia, that doesn't make it true. No amount of apologies can ever bring me back. I was robbed of my life because of you. What did I do to deserve this?"

"Dad…"

"I just wanted to help you! I can't believe I wasted all my time with… garbage."

"Your father loved you, Gia," Troy whispered to her. "You've got to remember this is only a dream. This is your mind. I hate to say it, Gia, but these are your words."

"What if he's right, Troy?" Gia asked. "My clone killed him. What if he doesn't know? What if he really is…?"

"He's your father. He loves you. We told him and your mother about the clones. He'd have put two and two together. You've got to believe…"

"But I don't know, Troy!" tears streamed down her cheeks. She turned to her father, "Dad, I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring me back! I'm dead, Gia, and it's because of you!"

"I didn't…" Gia shook her head. "Dad, they were clones…"

"Excuses, excuses. You sound like a bad soap opera plot…"

"Vrak made clones! He tricked us all! Dad, the thought of anything happening to you terrified me! I loved you!"

"Not enough! You killed me!"

"No… No, I…" Gia could feel her knees were getting weak and when she blinked she felt the moisture building up in her eyes, "Dad, the clones kidnapped me. I didn't… I wish I had been there. I never would have let her hurt you."

"But you weren't, and she did. I'm dead!"

"And I hate myself every day for it!" Gia screamed and fell to her knees as she was reduced to a sobbing heap. Troy dropped down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, then he looked over at her father. Mr. Moran's face softened and something about him changed.

"Gia…"

"I miss you, dad. Every day it's hard to wake up because I know you're not around anymore. I hate that you're dead. I hate that you were killed, but what I hate most is that there was nothing I could do! I wanted to be there! I'd have done anything! I'd still do anything."

"Nothing can bring me back."

"And it's tearing me apart! I'm so sorry, dad. I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I'm sorry I wasn't enough to help. I've let you down. I know I have. I'm just… I'm sorry."

Mr. Moran walked over to his daughter. He knelt down and took her face in his hands. He forced her to look at him and saw the tears on her cheeks and the hurt in her eyes. She was miserable. He didn't want this.

"There's nothing you could have done," he said.

"It's killing me, dad."

"There's nothing you could have done," her father said again. "I was dead before anyone knew the clone had switched places with you. I was dead before you were given a chance to be freed from the rest of them. You couldn't have stopped them."

"I should have done something…"

"Listen to him, Gia," Troy said. Gia clenched her fists.

"No. I should have done something. I could have been better. I need to be better!"

"You did all you could," her father assured her. "Sometimes, that's not enough."

"But dad…"

"It's a tough lesson, Gia, Troy," Mr. Moran glanced for a minute to the red Ranger, "But sometimes, doing everything isn't enough. Sometimes we can't control what happens. Sometimes, fate just needs to take its course. It doesn't matter what you do, what call you make, or how strong you are. You can't be responsible for everything."

Troy looked down at the floor where his morpher appeared. He picked it up and examined it closely. It was a truth he didn't want to hear, but he was glad he had heard it. As red Ranger, he had a lot on his shoulders. Knowing he couldn't control everything scared him, but it relieved him of some of the pressure he felt.

Gia turned away from her father. "I'm sorry, dad…"

"For what?" Mr. Moran asked her with a smile. "Gia, you've done nothing but bring joy and love into my life. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of who you've become."

"I let you down. I wasn't good enough. You deserved better."

"You're only going to let me down if you keep putting yourself down like this," Mr. Moran said. He took his daughter in his arms. Gia tried to pull away, but he held her close. "I love you, sweetheart. The only thing that disappoints me is that I can't be there for you anymore. There's so much I want to do, so many things I want to see. I'll never get that chance now."

"Dad…" Gia sobbed into his shoulder. He stroked her back.

"I don't want you to stop living," he told her. "Just because I'm not there, doesn't mean you can't enjoy those moments. I want you to have the best life. I want you to enjoy everything there is out there to enjoy."

"I'm sorry, dad."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," her father shook his head. "I've got nothing to forgive. I'm just glad you made it home. I'm glad you made it back to your mother. She'll take care of you. You know she'll love and care for you enough to make up for what I can't do anymore."

"That doesn't replace you! Dad, please, I'm so sorry…"

"You're forgiven," Mr. Moran gently held her face and looked her softly in the eyes. "If you need to hear it, Gia, if you need to know, you're forgiven. I love you. I'm proud of you, and I couldn't ask for a better daughter to keep my memory alive."

He kissed her forehead, "You're going to amount to great things, sweetheart. You just need to believe in yourself. Can you do that?"

Gia nodded her head. She wrapped her arms around her father again and held him tight. Troy smiled. He moved away from the father and daughter and suddenly found himself in the command center.

"Dude? You're back?" Jake asked when he noticed Troy was waking up. Troy rubbed his eyes and nodded his head.

"Yeah."

"What about Gia?" Jake asked and looked down at his girlfriend.

"She just needs a little more time," Troy smiled reassuringly. "You know, she's pretty tough."

"How did it go? Is she… I mean, the nightmares… do I need to kick your ass?"

"I don't think so," Troy smirked and then looked around the command center. "Where's Tensou?"

"He finished up," Jake pointed to Gia's back. Troy saw it looked much better from the last time. Tensou really was a miracle worker when it came to recoveries. There were still scars, some of which looked like they needed a little more time to heal, and others that looked like they would be permanent, but it was a huge improvement. Jake continued, "Tensou said everything went well. Gia should be completely back to normal in a couple of days."

"Define normal for Gia. If it what we're used to, I think Tensou may be wrong."

"You seriously helped her? I mean, is this really… did you…?"

"I didn't really do much," Troy said. "Gia's gonna fine. I know it, you know it, and now she knows it."

"I'll know it when she wakes up," Jake said. He kissed her hand and rested his head close to hers. Troy nodded and he could see that Jake was tired. Tensou did say his work would take up most of the day and so he figured it was pretty late. He started to leave so Jake and Gia could both rest.

"Dude," he heard Jake say, "Thanks."

"No problem."


	9. Better

Gia didn't want to leave her dreams, but she could feel herself waking up. After saying goodbye to her father she felt him let go and the world before her suddenly faded to black. There was a moment where she couldn't see or do anything and then she felt a hand holding hers and gently stroking her. She opened her eyes and saw Jake was still in the chair, just like he promised. He was leaning over her, smiling to her as he watched her wake up.

"Good morning," he said. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, I guess," Gia remembered she wasn't in the hospital anymore. She was in the command center, on a table, on her stomach. She looked around as she recalled letting Tensou work on her back to speed up the healing process. "How did it go?"

"With Tensou? Little dude's pretty good," Jake said. "You've got some scars that still need to heal, but they're just little cuts, nothing really major. He's closed up the rest of the wounds and he made sure there were no infections. You're clean. You're good."

"Can I sit up?"

"You can move all you want," Jake nodded his head and then he started to take off his sweater. He laid it across her back and smiled nervously, "Uh, Tensou kind of needed access so you're not really wearing a shirt. I didn't peek. I swear."

"I know," Gia said and found it much easier to slip her arms through the sleeves than it had been before she fell asleep. She could already feel the relief thanks to Tensou and would have to remember to thank the little robot before she went home. While Jake closed his eyes, she sat up and zipped the front of the sweater to cover up.

"So, uh… how are you feeling… you know," Jake asked her and pointed to his own head. "Troy said everything went well, but…"

"It was three nightmares," Gia nodded. "I got three, one after the other."

"Did you… beat them?"

"I saved myself," Gia smiled. "I took control, I beat Cliff, I even got to apologize to my dad."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not worried my fears are going to control me," Gia said with a little shake of her head. "I know they can't. I know I can control them."

"Well, that's good," Jake smiled. "What about the other stuff? You mentioned Cliff…"

"He can't hurt me," Gia said. "I'm not going to let him. I stood up to him, Jake. I told him no, I meant it, and when I told him he couldn't hurt me anymore I really felt like that was the truth. And it's not just because he's dead. He's a coward."

"And a loser," Jake smirked. "Don't forget, he's a loser."

"And I talked to my dad," Gia said. "You know those nightmares I had about him? How I thought he hated me and blamed me for what happened?"

"Yeah."

"He doesn't. I don't. I know I did everything I could. I know things could have been different, but fate played its hand and I just had to go along with it. Dad's not angry with me."

"He'd be very proud of you," Jake nodded. "He really loved you. Anyone could see that. He wants the best for you."

"And I want to make sure he has that," Gia smiled. "I want him to look down and keep being proud of me."

"And Vrak killing you?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Gia smirked. "He's just going to have to try a little harder next time."

"Or, he can leave you alone and pick on someone else for once," Jake frowned. Gia chuckled and then leaned in and kissed Jake softly.

"Thank you," she said with a smile before she pulled away and hopped off the table. She walked to the other room, Jake assumed to talk to Tensou, while he gathered up her top so she could have it when he took her home. When he saw her coming back with a bright, happy smile, he couldn't help but feel lucky. He always felt Gia was an amazing girl. No matter what she was going through, or had been through, he knew there was someone amazing hiding under all that hurt. He had been starting to see her for a while now, but as she came out more and more, he was even more amazed with her, and so lucky that out of everyone she could have trusted, she wanted him.

"When's your game?" she asked him.

"I've got practice tonight."

"Can I come?"

"To practice?"

"I know I'm not a soccer master, but I think it'd be pretty cool to see the team in practice, and maybe I can offer a few pointers."

"It couldn't hurt," Jake nodded. "Why don't I drop you off at home, you can get cleaned up, and then I'll pick you up on my way."

"Sounds great," Gia smiled and wrapped her arms around him as she pulled him in for another kiss.


	10. Great Leader

While Gia wanted to be at home with her family after Jake's practice, she convinced Jake to stop by Troy's house first. She had underestimated him, but when she did give him a second chance, he had really pulled through for her. She wanted to thank him personally because his help meant a lot.

While Jake waited in the driveway, Gia knocked on the Burrows' door. Luckily enough, Troy was the one to answer. Gia asked him to talk so they sat on the bench on the porch.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm walking," Gia answered with a smile. "Tensou's pretty good."

"He's also pretty sweet on your mom," Troy chuckled. He heard all about Tensou's crush on Mrs. Moran, and knew the little robot would do anything he could to impress the yellow Ranger's mother. While his priorities were set to do his best at caring for the Rangers, he had a little more to give when it came to looking after his crush's beloved daughter. "I'll bet you're the last person he wants to make a mistake on."

"Hey, whatever works," Gia shrugged her shoulder and then reached into her pocket. She pulled out a little tiger keychain and offered it to Troy. "Look, I just wanted to say thank you. What you did for me back there was really amazing."

"It's the least I could do…"

She shook her head, "The least you could have done was protect me. You were thinking clearly in that fire. If you put your mind to it, you could have found a way out easy."

"The flames probably couldn't really hurt you," Troy shrugged.

"You let me do it, though. I needed that push," Gia smiled. "I guess I've really needed it until now, you know, but when I get in trouble like that, I've always needed saving. I've just gotten used to someone pulling me out of trouble and keeping me safe. I never really considered getting myself out of harm's way."

"You needed it," Troy said. "I wasn't in your nightmares to protect you from them. I was in to help you. Remember?"

"You stuck to your word," Gia nodded. "You also let me take on Cliff. I know it looked rough, I know you wanted to jump in, but you didn't. It was risky, but it was the right move."

"You're tough when you want to be. The way you protect Emma and Jake, and the way you looked after those kids when we were in the future, I knew you could stand up for yourself. You just needed…"

"A little push," Gia nodded and smiled. "I guess, though Cliff is gone, a part of me felt like I missed out on taking back my voice and my power. When he died, I felt completely owned and beaten by him. By the time I kind of bounced back, it was too late to show him I was better without him. If I couldn't show him, it didn't feel real. Now, I got what I wanted. I put him in his place. I showed him I deserved better and that he couldn't control me anymore. I feel so much better."

"And your dad?"

"There was a lot of guilt there," Gia said. "It's like Cliff. He was gone before I could do anything. Talking to him one last time, hearing the words from his mouth that he still loved me… I feel so much better Troy, and it's all thanks to you," Gia leaned in and hugged the red Ranger. "Thank you. From the very bottom of my heart, thank you."

"Anytime," Troy said as he responded to the hug by giving Gia a supportive squeeze.

"You know," Gia pulled away. "You're not a leader because of the decisions you make. Face it; we can all veto you if we wanted to."

"Gia…"

"I'm serious, Troy. You're a leader because you know how to… You helped me feel strong when I was weak. Even though I fought those battles on my own, I knew you had my back and you wouldn't let me down."

"Thanks."

"You know… before we went to the future, you and I had that talk," Gia smiled. "I was nervous because colleges were already begging me to choose them and I didn't know what I wanted to do. You said it was okay, because you didn't know what you wanted to do either."

"I still don't," Troy shrugged his shoulders. "School is starting up soon. I should probably look into that."

"Helping people," Gia smiled. "You're really good at helping people feel better about themselves. You stand up to bullies without putting them down. You help victims by making them feel they're more than what their tormentors say. You're a great leader and an excellent role model. Whatever you do, Troy, you need to help people. You'll just be wasted anywhere else."

"I'll consider it, thanks, Gia," Troy said as he leaned in to give the yellow Ranger a hug. "I can start by helping you. If you've still got no ideas…"

"I want to help people too," Gia said. "When I see Ms. Chesterfield, I'm going to ask her about having a talk with the ninth graders. You know, just about what happened to me and how to keep it from happening again."

"A talk?"

"Just, you know, to warn them about high school," Gia nodded. "I was in the ninth grade when Cliff got to me, and then for two years after that I was scared to talk because I didn't think anyone would really… get it. I can maybe open some people's eyes before they make a bad decision, and if some of them do slip, I'll be there to help."

"Like a mentor?" Troy asked. "Kind of like how Serena helped you?"

"She inspired me a little bit. Can't say I'd be here without her," Gia chuckled. "I'll see what Ms. Chesterfield has to say about it, and then I'll see where that takes me. Actually, I was thinking maybe Rebecca could help me."

"Rebecca?"

"Yeah. She got involved with some bad people too," Gia nodded. "Is she around?"

"She's playing with some stupid red Ranger toy in the living room," Troy groaned and rolled his eyes. "She bought some school supplies while we were dreaming, I guess, and with the money she had left over, she bought an action figure of me."

"Why you?"

"Why not me?"

"Yellow's cooler."

"Whatever," Troy smirked. "She keeps telling me how cool the red Ranger is. It's funny at first, but it gets kind of old."

"Maybe I can get her focused on something else," Gia got up and Troy walked her to the door. He let her inside and then looked over to the driveway, where Jake was standing by himself passing the time while he and Gia spoke. He walked over to him.

"She seems better."

"Much," Jake nodded. "Seriously, dude, thanks for everything."

"You don't have to thank me," Troy shook his head and smiled; "She's my friend too. I wanted to see her get better just as much as you did."

He looked at the keychain Gia had given him, "Do you know about this?"

"She insisted she get you something for all your help. You'd have gotten a dragon instead, but there weren't any dragon key chains, and she said the tiger will remind you how you helped her bring out her strength."

"It's nice."

"You did a good thing. You've really changed her for the better, Troy. Thank you. If you ever need anything…"

"Just don't hurt her. The ball's in your court," Troy said. "As cool as it was living in someone else's dream, I'd rather it stay a onetime experience."

"If I ever hurt her, you have every right to kill me slowly and painful," Jake raised his right hand and put his left over his heart. "Would I really go to these lengths for a girl I didn't care enough about to protect?"

"You're a good guy, Jake. I trust you," Troy said before he turned back to his house. "I should probably head back inside. Dad's got some paperwork to fill out for work and mom's out with some of her friends for the night. It's my shift with the baby and Ryan."

"Rebecca can't be that bad," Jake chuckled. "She's part you."

"She's… taking this little sister thing seriously," Troy sighed. He turned back to Troy, "You know, my dad and your mom are getting married. She is your step sister. You can take her for a weekend or…"

"She seems comfortable at your place. Moving her around between families just wouldn't be right. And I've got a Gia to handle, and she comes with a free Emma."

"So you've got experience with women."

"I'm saying my hands are full," Jake chuckled. "Tell Gia to hurry up with whatever she's doing. It's starting to get dark and I don't want to be walking home by myself after dark."

"It's probably best I rescue her from Rebecca," Troy said as he walked back inside the house. Moments later, Gia came out. She walked over to Jake with a smile. He put his arm around her.

"What was that?"

"Extending that idea I had," Gia said. "Rebecca's been through a hard time too. I thought she could help."

"Will she?"

"She was pretty excited about it," Gia nodded. "I told her she could be my partner as long as she stopped shoving the red Ranger in my face."

"What?" Jake asked.

"She's got a Troy doll," Gia rolled her eyes. "Don't ask. She's a fan of the red Ranger. When I left, though, I swear I heard her mutter something about having to get a yellow one."

"Weird, but good, I guess. You've got another fan."

"Yeah. Anyways, home?"

"Home."


End file.
